


Triptych in Cotton and Angora

by paranomastic



Series: RWBY Polyptychs [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 18:03:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4755917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paranomastic/pseuds/paranomastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Triptych - A picture (such as a painting) that has three panels placed next to each other</i>
</p>
<p>Three moments where Coco and Velvet understood each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Triptych in Cotton and Angora

First

Being a faunus in public is a risky proposition on the best of days, and Coco wishes she could always be around to discourage people from acting on their terrible urges but she cannot be everywhere at once. So on this particular day she heard Velvet yell as she stood in line for lunch, turned around, and just barely caught her girlfriend sprinting down an alleyway while a bunch of over-muscled human men stood around the table she had been sitting at.

Before, Coco’s priority would have been beating the tar out of the dudes who hurt Velvet. But there were too many like them for that to really matter, and in the end it helped Velvet much more to have someone with her. She had been with her long enough to know that. So instead Coco ran off after her.

Velvet was faster, but Coco could predict her patterns. That was the nice thing about knowing a faunus well enough – you could get to know their instincts and account for them. Velvet tended to run down the path obviously less occupied at any given fork or intersection, so that was all Coco had to do for a while until indeed she eventually found her.

She was sitting on the back step of some store, right near the massive closed gate of the merchandise delivery dock, face buried in her hands. Coco approached slowly, careful not to startle her, until she slipped off her jacket and sat next to her girlfriend.

“Hey.” Coco said, draping the jacket over Velvet’s shoulders both to calm her and to keep her hands steady there.

Velvet jolted up, spine slamming into place straight, ready to bolt, but when Coco’s hands kept her in place she deflated slightly, eyes still wide and glistening.

Coco released one of her hands, leaving the one on Velvet’s far shoulder to transition into an arm around both. Words were not something she needed to burden the other girl with right now.

After a few moments, Velvet leaned in and buried her face in Coco’s shoulder, arms wrapping around her chest. Coco, for her part, patted her on the back.

One minute passed, then another, and a third after that. “Feeling any better?”

Velvet sniffed and nodded, looking up at her.

“Let’s go out somewhere nicer, okay? I think I have the cash to swing it.” Coco pressed her lips to the top of Velvet’s head for a moment, “Somewhere I don’t have to take my eyes off you.”

Velvet raised an eyebrow and gently hit Coco’s shoulder with her head, stifling a giggle.

“C’mon.” Coco stood, holding her hand out to her, “Let’s at least get out of here.”

A long moment passed, then Velvet took it. “Okay.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Second

Coco Adel does not get sick. Coco Adel absolutely does not get sick no matter what you might think. Some days she just sweats a little more than usual and her internal temperature rises and she coughs a lot. No big deal! No big deal. Because being sick would mean being weak and Coco Adel is not weak.

“Uh. Coco…?” Velvet walked alongside her down the hall, eyes nervously flitting up and down the taller girl. Who was very noticeably at this point actually shaking as well as sweating, which indicated that indeed perhaps she was not a hundred percent healthy. Just a hunch Velvet had.

“Yeah?” Coco looked over, a little snappier in response than intended, breath growing heavier.

Velvet swallowed back concern, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” a fit of coughing, and Coco leaned against the wall with one arm, “I’m fine.”

“You’re really…” Velvet winced, “not.”

Coco leaned against the wall, “I’m just a little tired, I guess. Nothing to worry about. Just gonna… take a break. For a second.”

“Coco…” Velvet sighed, “Alright. You’re tired. Let’s go to the nurse and tell her you’re tired. Okay?”

“Ba-“ Coco was interrupted from her attempt at a plea by another harsh fit of coughs. “… okay. But I’m gonna need…”

Velvet walked forward and awkwardly slung Coco’s arm over her shoulder, “I’ll get you there. Just stick close, okay?”

Coco looked Velvet up and down, “Are you sure you can-“

“I’m sure.” She smiled, pushing down her fear over the distinct possibility that she would not, in fact, be able to support Coco’s weight all the way to the nurse’s office. If she could do this, she had to. As Coco’s teammate and as her girlfriend.

Velvet winced as Coco leaned onto her, but knew this was something she had to do. Just one foot in front of the other, down the hallways until she reached the nurse, and…

A few minutes later, Coco was in a nurse office bed and had medicine in her for how tired she was, as well as a thermometer in her mouth and a wet cloth on her forehead. The very picture of si- _exhaustion_.

“Feeling a little better?” Velvet asked, sitting on a stool next to the cot.

“She thinks I’m sick.” Coco glanced over at the nurse, who was not very good at hiding the roll in her eyes, “I think I might agree with her. But don’t say anything.”

Well, the nurse had told her the medicine might make Coco act a little strange. “I won’t. Promise.” She brushed a hair off of Coco’s forehead, smiling down at her.

Coco pressed her head against Velvet’s hand as she moved it away, “Hey. Y’know something?”

“What?”

“I love you.” Coco smiled up at her, “I love you and now I am going to sleep.”

“Because you’re tired. Right.” Velvet leaned in and kissed Coco on the cheek, “Love you too.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Third

Coco swallowed, checking her pocket one last time before Velvet got back. They had come out to a remote hill on the edge of the city to watch the stars, far away from… well, everyone. That was the most important part of the evening, really. That no one else be around. Velvet had gone to grab ice cream, though, and Coco was left to wait. And sweat a little, mostly because she could not afford to show a single hint of fear once Velvet returned. They had been dating for years at this point, Velvet would know. Finals were over, graduation was approaching - there was really nothing Coco could use as an excuse for the nervousness if Velvet saw it.

But eventually Velvet returned, and Coco shoved the nervousness down to return to her standard stoic state, leaning back and looking up. The grass was cold under her hands, and she focused pointedly on that.

“Back!” Velvet called out, striding forward to hand Coco her cone of chocolate and sitting next to her with a cone of her own. 

“Welcome back.” Coco smiled, “The stars are still up there, moon’s still broken, no massive Nevermores flying in to lay waste to Vale. Just so you know.”

“Oh good, I would’ve hated to miss that.” Velvet giggled and leaned against Coco’s shoulder, offering over her ice cream, “Want to try some?”

Coco leaned forward and took a lick, “Huh. It’s good.”

“They make carrot cake ice cream! How cool is that?”

“Well it’s ice cream, so it’s gotta be pretty cool, right?” Being in love made people do stupid things sometimes. In Coco’s case, she had developed something that vaguely resembled a sense of humor, though Velvet was the only one who really fully appreciated it.

And indeed, Velvet giggled, “I guess so.” After they finished the ice cream, she looked up at the sky, “It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?”

Coco looked up too, but ended up looking to the side at Velvet instead when she replied, “Yeah. Yeah it is.” Even just sitting here looking up at the sky, she just… Coco’s hand strayed to her pocket again.

“No matter where we go after we graduate… that same sky’s going to be there. And it gets more beautiful the further you get away from the city.” Velvet smiled, “Not a lot of things do that.”

“After we graduate…” Coco’s hand slipped into her pocket, closing tight around its contents, “What’s your plan?”

Velvet looked back over at Coco and shrugged, “I don’t know. What are you planning on doing?”

“I don’t know, I mean…” Coco pulled her hand out of her pocket. Now or never, she supposed – she just had to keep it casual. The more casual she kept it the less chance of Velvet panicking, which was the last thing she wanted. “I’ve been thinking about getting married, I guess?”

“What?” Velvet’s eyes widened, focus suddenly fully and intently on Coco.

Coco pulled her glasses off, setting them on the grass nearby, then released her grip on the ring she had pulled from her pocket, extending it out towards Velvet, “I mean. If you want to.”

“Y-You want to…” the faunus looked around, whole body at attention, “Really?”

“Really.” Coco smiled, “If you want to-“

She just had time enough to close her hand back around the ring before Velvet leaped towards her, arms wrapping around in the strange lovechild of a hug and a football tackle, sending Coco falling back so hard the crunch of her glasses breaking barely even registered. Not that she even cared, really.

“Of course! Yes, absolutely.” Velvet nuzzled into Coco’s neck, “Yes, yes, yes. In case that wasn’t clear.”

“Your answer was really unclear before that, honestly.” Coco giggled – actually giggled – in relief, then moved her legs so that she laid flat on her back and Velvet rested on top of her, grinding the remnants of the glasses to powder with her Aura. Easier than taking the time to deal with them herself.

“That’s why I said something.” Velvet pushed back, holding out her hand, “How long were you sitting on that?”

Coco slipped the ring on, “It took a little while to find one good enough for you, but I figured it out eventually.”

“It’s amazing. You’re amazing. I…” Velvet dropped her lips against Coco’s in a kiss. “I love you.”

“Same here.”

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of like the idea of keeping one character in common between each of these. Get a good balance between established ships and smaller ships going, since the idea of this series is to do little bits of all sorts of different ships. I dunno.


End file.
